Skorpa Church ( no, Skorpa kirke) is a historic

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

Kvænangen Municipality Kvænangen ( sme, Návuotna; fkv, Naavuono) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Burfjord. The European route E6 highway goes through the municipality and over ...

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English language, English), is a Counties of Norway, county in Northern Norway, northern Norway that was established ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is located on the small island of Skorpa. It used to be the church for the Kvænangen

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

which is part of the Nord-Troms prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland Nord-Hålogaland ( no, Nord-Hålogaland bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms og Finnmark county as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Tromsø ...

. The white, wooden church was built in a

long church Church building in Norway began when Christianity was established there around the year 1000. The first buildings may have been post churches erected in the 10th or 11th century, but the evidence is inconclusive. For instance under Urnes Stave C ...

style in 1850 using plans drawn up by an unknown

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. The church seats about 300 people. In 1956, the church was taken out of regular use when the new

Sekkemo Church Sekkemo Church ( no, Sekkemo kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kvænangen Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Sekkemo. It is one of the churches for the Kvænangen parish which is pa ...

was completed on the mainland.

History

A chapel was built on the island of Skorpa in 1795. It may not have been the first chapel on Skorpa, but there is little known before that time. The chapel was likely built during the missionary period where

Thomas von Westen Thomas von Westen (13 September 1682 – 9 April 1727) was a Norwegian Lutheran priest and missionary. He was a driving force in the Sami mission, and founded the education institution ''Seminarium Scholasticum'', the later Seminarium Lapponic ...

was trying to evangelize the local

Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

. The chapel was

consecrate Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

d in 1806 by the local priest Angell. Skorpa was originally an

annex chapel A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...

under the main

Skjervøy Church Skjervøy Church ( no, Skjervøy kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skjervøy Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the village of village of Skjervøy on the island of Skjervøya. It is the main chu ...

and the priest came to the island about four times each year. The old chapel was torn down and replaced with the current church building in 1850. The new church was

d on 18 September 1850 by the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Daniel Bremer Juell Daniel Bremer Juell (1 January 1808 – 26 May 1855) was a Norwegian clergyman and politician.administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of the municipality, gradually became much less populated and later the administration was moved to

Burfjord Burfjord ( fkv, Puruvuono; sme, Buvrovuotna) is a village that is the administrative centre of Kvænangen Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is home to the municipal council of Kvænangen. The village has a population (2017) ...

on the mainland. In 1956,

was built on the mainland and that church became the main church for the municipality. Today, Skorpa is an uninhabited island and the church is only rarely used—mostly for special occasions.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=February 2021 Kvænangen Churches in Troms Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1850 1795 establishments in Norway Long churches in Norway

History

See also

References